Disclaimer: all characters are owned by Pixelberry. I claim no ownership of them. Enjoy!
As she looked down at him, her face contorted into a painful gaze.
“No.” Riley breathed.
“What?” Liam bolted straight up from the ground, nearly dropping the ring. His body language shifted like the sea facing a storm.
“I can’t. I’m so sorry.” She shook her head. Tears began to sting her eyes. Her throat felt like it was closing shut. She swallowed hard, forcing it to remain open.
“I don’t understand.”
“When I came here, it was for you, but after the press released the photos of me and Tariq, this whole thing got to be too much. I wanted to run away from all of it. I distanced myself from you, so I could try and accept that we might never be together outside of being your mistress. I started to realize this isn’t what I wanted anymore, even if I didn’t have the scandal hanging over my head.”
Liam snapped the box shut and tucked it into his breast pocket. The sound of the box closing was the sound of their future crumbling right in front of her. She almost let her feelings get the best of her. She was dangerously close to taking the words back when he spoke.
“I see.” Liam looked at the ground to avoid looking at her.
“I didn’t mean for this to happen this way, Liam. I never wanted to hurt you.” Her voice strained.
“I know you didn’t, Lady Riley.” He said as he started walking back towards the dock where the boat was waiting.
“Wait.” She called out.
Liam stopped, but didn’t turn around. He clasped his hands behind his back as he stood at attention and waited for her.
“There’s something else. I’m… I’m in love with-“
“Drake.” He said flatly, turning on his heels to look at her.
“Y-yes. How did you know?” She creased her brow. Liam laughed, but the sound carried no joy.
“I’m the king, Riley. I have eyes and ears everywhere. The dive bar in France. The restaurant in Italy. I know about all your rendezvous. I have to admit, it’s a little betraying of him. That part surprised me the most. But I’m glad he’s found love. He’s always been so closed off. I just wish it hadn’t been with the woman I’d fallen in love with, too.” He stepped toward her and her body froze.
“Why didn’t you say anything?” She said it so quietly that it nearly was swept up into the breeze.
“Because I love you, and I figured once the time came, we’d all move on. I see now that didn’t happen,” Liam closed the gap between them, took her chin in his hand, and turned her face up towards him, “but I love you enough to let you be with whoever makes you happy. If Drake makes you happy, go to him. I won’t pretend my heart isn’t broken, or that I don’t envy him. He’s always been loyal to me when it meant the most.” Liam stopped for a moment and smiled fondly at the ground. He looked her in the eyes before planting one last gentle kiss on her lips. “Go to him, Riley.”
Riley stood there, staring at a man who held so much power yet seemed so small. She blinked a few times and began running. Running towards the boat and towards Drake. Right before she reached the dock she looked back to see Liam staring at her, his face stoic as ever, and he nodded. Her body felt hot. I’m doing the right thing. I’m doing the right thing. She continued to the boat and set off to the shoreline of New York.
Riley pressed the “7” in the elevator violently.
“Come on, come on.” She muttered.
Within seconds she was at the seventh floor. She took off her shoes and ran down the hallway to room 731. She knocked on the door with a desperate few thuds. A moment later, Drake opened the door slightly, his eyes heavy with sleep and his face riddled with confusion. She’d woken him up.
“Hey, Johnson.” He opened the door further and looked down the hallway to see she was alone. “Everything okay?”
“Can I come in?” Riley asked in a short breath.
“Yeah, of course.” Drake opened the door for her and stepped back to let her in to the dark room, lit only by moonlight. He shut the door behind her but didn’t move. Riley faced him and let out a ragged breath.
“Liam proposed to me tonight.”
Drakes shoulders slumped as he looked at the ceiling to avoid Riley’s gaze.
“Congratulations.” He rubbed the back of his neck and pushed past her to sit down on the edge of his bed. She turned to him and took a few tentative steps forward.
“I said no, Drake.”
His eyes rounded her in surprise before he closed them tightly.
“What?” He shook his head.
“I said no. I don’t want to be with Liam. I want to be with you.” Riley gave him a half smile, tears filling her eyes. But this time, they were happy tears. Tears of relief. Tears of joy.
“Johnson…” He stood up and took her hand, bringing the back of it to his lips, “are you sure?”
“Well I didn’t turn down a king and an entire kingdom because I wasn’t.” Her damp cheeks rose into a brilliant smile.
“Jesus Christ.” He chuckled.
“So…” She said tentatively.
“So, you’re my problem now, aye?”
In way of an answer, Riley got on her tippy toes and planted a gentle kiss to Drake’s lips. He brought one hand to the small of her back, letting the other tangle in the back of her hair. Riley threw her arms around his neck and smiled against him and he did the same.
“You’re crazy, you know that?”
“I love you, Drake Walker.” She put her head on his chest.
“I love you, too.” His body relaxed as he rested his cheek on top of her head.
“Can I stay?” She glanced up at him, already knowing the answer.
“Of course you can stay.”
“Thank you.” She ran a hand lightly over his chest.
She walked toward the window and stared out over the city where this all began. She could see the Statue of Liberty. She imagined Liam still standing there, gazing at the landmark. It made her heart feel like it was in a vice grip to think of him all alone, knowing that she was the cause. She quickly pushed the thought out of her mind, reminding herself Liam told her to go. He could have tried to make her stay, but he didn’t. If he would have asked her to, she wasn’t sure she’d have said no, but it was over. A large part of her was sad at the finality of it; a bigger part of her than she anticipated. It was like mourning the death of someone who was still living. She’d focused so much of her life around him, like a moon orbiting a planet. She’d worked tirelessly to clear her name for him and with him. He was a planet, but Drake was the Sun. He kept her warm. He kept her in balance. He kept her going.
“Can you help me with the back of this dress? Maxwell zipped me into it, but I can’t reach it.” She asked as she broke her entranced stare from the window.
“Sure.”
Riley turned her back to Drake and moved her hair out of the way for him. He gently pulled the zipper down and pushed the straps off her shoulders, leaving a trail of kisses across them. Soon the dress settled on the floor around her feet, leaving her only in a black bra and matching panties. She stepped out and turned towards him. For the first time she realized he’d only been wearing pajama pants and nothing else. She took a second to appreciate the sight of him in the moonlight, the way the brightness of it casted perfect shadows along the valley’s between his precisely cut abs. She thought back to just a few days ago, the first time they’d been together. The bright ignition of fire that had turned into a hot and slow smolder. The way he touched her made her feel like a different person. When she was with Drake, maybe she truly was. He looked at her, his eyes burning with the want to be inside her. Before she could say anything, he picked her up by the back of her thighs and she swung her legs around him. He pressed her up against the hotel wall and began leaving searing kisses from her ear to her collarbone. He bit her neck and she let out a small moan, digging her nails into his back, which flexed against her fingers. She moved her lips towards his and he caught her mouth with desperation. He carried her over to his bed, never taking his lips off hers. He laid her down gently and began kissing down her body, placing kisses down the curves of her soft breasts. Riley ran her fingers through his hair, arching her back involuntarily as he made his way towards her belly button. He gently nipped at the skin on her hips before kissing right above the elastic on her panties. He looked up at her and she met his gaze, panting, and nodded. Drake grabbed the sides of her underwear and pulled them down painfully slow. She hated it and loved it at the same time. He drove her mad. That was one of the things she loved about him, how much she needed him in every sense of the word. She ached for him between her legs. He moved back up towards her mouth and caught it in a fiery kiss. He reached behind her back with one hand and unclasped her bra, throwing it across the room. His mouth eagerly moved against her nipples. Before she knew it, Drake slid back down. He slowly kissed her from her belly button to right above her most intimate parts, antagonizing her. His tongue flicked against her lightly. He stopped and looked up at her once more. Riley ran her fingers through his hair and pushed his mouth between her legs. Drake let out a moan and began to move his tongue against her.
“Oh my god. Drake.” Riley said quietly, her breathing quickening.
She moved her hips against his mouth, his stubble rubbing her inner thighs. Just before she was about to go over the edge he stopped.
“No.” She moaned. “I was so close.”
Drake shot her a coy smile. He sat up on his knees, grabbing her hand and pulling her up to his body. Her lips found their way to his and she held his face in her hands.
“Is this how you wanted the night to end?” She whispered into his ear.
“Always.” His voice was low and heated.
“My turn.”
Riley pushed Drake back on to the bed with a soft thud. She made quick work of his pants and boxers. His hands rested on her shoulders as she took him in her hand, her face hovering right above his chest. Her hair fell slightly in front of her face, sending a shock of electricity through him as it grazed his skin. She slowly began moving up and down the length of him, turning her wrist lightly with each movement. She gave a small grin watching his breath catch. She loved watching him want her. All the times he eye-fucked her from across the room made every time they were alone together that much more satisfying.
“Fuck, Johnson.”
“Was that an offer or praise?” She cocked an eyebrow, looking up at him.
“Both.” He bit his bottom lip.
She moved down him and took him in her mouth. Drake exhaled loudly as he gathered her long, dark hair into his fist and moved his arm in time with her. His other hand grasped at a pillow beneath his head. He tilted up his chin and his jaw went slack as she picked up the pace and he tensed beneath her.
“God, you’re good.” He moaned.
A few moments later Riley sat up and Drake’s hand fell, grazing her chest.
“Tell me what you want.” He said heavily.
Riley leaned inches from his face.
“I want you to fuck me, Drake.”
“Good, because I’m going to.”
He stood up from the bed and pulled her to him. He quickly spun her around and pushed her small frame against the wall with his chest. The coolness of it on her breast awakened her body from its warm trance. He grabbed her wrists and pinned them against the wall with one hand, using the other to guide himself into her. He moved his hips forward slowly. She lightly bit her arm to silence a loud moan threatening to escape her. Once he was fully in he stopped.
“Is this what you wanted?” He asked huskily into her ear. His breath was hot on her neck. She was so desperate for him. She nodded quickly.
He slowly pulled back his hips, almost completely out of her, before quickly thrusting them forward, slamming into her with purpose.
“Beg for it.” He whispered through clenched teeth.
“Fuck me.” She breathed.
“I said beg for it.” His hand tightened around her wrists.
“Please fuck me.” She panted louder.
Drake rolled his head onto his shoulder, the words turning him on more than he ever thought possible. He knew he was stuck with her because there was no way anyone else would ever compare.
“Good girl.” Drake kissed her shoulder before slamming into her again and stopping inside her. She took in a gasp.
“You really want me to fuck you, sweetheart?”
Riley pressed her hips against his, pushing him farther into her.
“Say it.” He put his finger into her mouth. She bit down on it, then sucked it hard. Drake groaned and bit her shoulder, sliding his hand down to her throat and putting pressure on it.
“Fuck me, Drake.”
He began moving against her. Slowly at first, then quicker.
“Fuck.” She cried out as she gasped loudly.
Drake released her hands and grabbed her hips, moving them in time with his. She placed her hands flush against the wall to keep herself upright. Her knees began to feel weak as heat built up inside of her. Her toes and fingers tingled as the world fell around her, leaving only her and Drake.
“Don’t stop.” She whispered.
“Wouldn’t dream of it, darlin’.”
Drake’s words sent her body into a frenzy, and she released around him as he continued bucking against her. When he felt her body tense, he let out a primal moan and joined her. Moments passed by as waves of intense pleasure pulsed between them.
“Fuck.” He rested his forehead on her back, breathing heavily.
The sound of deep inhales and exhales echoed through the room as they both caught their breath, Drakes hand rested against the wall to steady himself, the other still grasping her hip.
“I can’t wait to do this with you all the time.” Riley smiled.
“Me either.” He gently kissed up her back to her shoulders.
“I love you.”
“I love you, too.” He nestled his face into her neck, wrapping his arms around her waist. “I can’t believe you’re here.”
Riley turned to face him.
“Why is that so hard to believe?” She laced her fingers behind his back, running a pinky over the dimple nested at the bottom of it.
“Because you’re you and I’m me. Do you know how amazing you are?” Drake rested his forehead on hers. “You’re kind. You’re funny as hell. Smart as a whip. Fantastic in bed. I’m a grumpy bastard. Yet, here you are. It feels like a dream. You’re making me into a goddamn fool. You’re killing me, Johnson.”
“You need to stop doing that.” Riley raised a hand and drew a line on his jaw with her finger.
“Doing what?”
“Selling yourself short. You’re amazing, too. The qualities I lack, you make up for. But it’s all part of your charm. I happen to love your charm. I love the way you laugh. I love that little wrinkle you get in your forehead when you concentrate. I love the way that when I walk into a room you look at me like I’m the only person there. I love you because of who you are, not in spite of who you are.”
Drake tightened his grip around her, pulling her ever closer to his chest.
“I’m exhausted after that. Let’s get some rest.” She said wearily.
“Agreed.” He chuckled.
Drake went into the bathroom to clean up. He washed his hands and dried them slowly as the realization of what this meant for Liam soon came to him once his endorphins stopped pumping. He looked at himself in the mirror, barely the same person he knew just a few months ago. The guilt he felt met him with a new heaviness that was far worse than it had been just an hour before. He always battled his feelings for Riley, constantly trying to push them to the back of his mind, but now she was all his despite everyone’s efforts to make it not so. He sighed, throwing the towel onto the sink, and rubbed the course hair on his jaw gruffly. He wondered if Liam knew she’d came here. Of course he did, or else he’d already be here to tell me about how he lost the love of his life. He leaned back against the cool marble of the bathroom counter, crossing his arms over his bare chest. She made her choice to be with me, and I’m going to make sure that choice was worth it.
When he came back out, Riley laid naked underneath the covers of the king-sized bed. She had cocooned herself in the large comforter and it swallowed up her tiny body with ease. He smirked at her as he crawled in and pulled her to his chest.
“Don’t tell me you’re a blanket hog.”
“I also spread out like a starfish when I get real comfy.” She nestled into him. He let out a small laugh and shook his head at her.
“I’m gonna marry you some day, Johnson.” He breathed out a content sigh and closed his eyes.
“Promise?”
“You can bet on it.”